A short time later, Dad came in, holding the book on rat care.
“Fiona, I’ve been reading about what happens if your pet gets out. Apparently, a lot of rats will find that they can open the door and they get away. The thing to do is to put their cage on the floor, and put some really tasty snacks in a trail back -” Dad stopped talking, seeing Fiona lying crumpled across the bed like a deflated balloon. “Honey, what’s the matter?”
Fiona sat up, took the box from Aerya, and held it out, not saying a word.
“Fiona, what’s going on? Why are you holding the shoe box?” Dad closed the book and tucked it under his arm.
“We found Rumpy, Daddy.” Fiona made her voice gentle and sad.
“What?” Dad looked at the cage, which still had the door open, and was empty.
“Where is he?”
Fiona looked from her dad to the box in her hands.
“Why don’t you put him back - oh. Sweetie, was he dead?”
Fiona nodded, closing her eyes, and letting her head hang down.
“Oh little punkin, I am so sorry.” Dad set the book on Fiona’s night stand and sat down next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders. Aerya was mercifully silent, following Fiona’s lead and appearing to be sad.
“Is that Rumpy?” asked Dad, pointing to the box.
Fiona turned to face her dad, and nodded silently. She put her head against his chest.
“Where did you find him?”
“He was under the bathroom sink, in the cabinet, stuck in that hole in the wall.” Fiona’s stomach gained another stone as she lied. This was getting really bad, and she promised again that once the shoe was buried, she would not lie. Ever. About anything.
As her stomach punished her, Fiona thought about who started all of this - Aerya, with her plea to free the rat. If it wasn’t for Aerya talking to that rat . . . oh well, it didn’t matter. Fiona was finally out of this, and would make everything up to Dad. Rumpy was free, Aerya was settled, and Dad didn’t know. All in all, this was a happy ending to the situation. Fiona reflected that a stomach filled with rock was a small price to pay for a happy ending.
“He was trying to get into the walls. Poor little guy. Fiona, I’m so sorry.” Dad hugged Fiona and patted her head. Aerya came over and hugged Fiona, too, still keeping her eyes down as if she was sad about Rumpy’s passing.
“We should give Rumpy a funeral, Fiona, to honor him.” said Dad softly, stroking Fiona’s long hair with his hand.
“Yes,” added Aerya, “he should be honored. He went through so much. Rumple Dumple was a truly noble animal.”
Fiona nudged Aerya with her elbow, worried that Aerya would say something that revealed the lies that brought them to this point.
“Thank you, Daddy. That would be nice. Can we do it today? You know, before Rumpy starts to, uhm -”
“Stink?” interrupted Aerya.
“Yes, Fiona, we’ll bury him outside. Let me change my clothes, and we’ll go take care of this. I’m so sorry, baby. This is a really sad thing.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” whispered Fiona. After a while, Dad let go of Fiona, and went off to change his clothes. Fiona closed the bedroom door.
“Aerya, you know, this is all your fault.”
“My fault?” Aerya’s eyes were wide with surprise, and she held her hands wide apart.
“Yes! If you hadn’t licked Rumpy, we wouldn’t know his family was nearby. I wouldn’t have lied to Dad about a pet. And then, if you had just let Rumpy stay in the cage -”
“His heart was breaking! Didn’t you see it in his eyes? He was so sad.”
Fiona squished her lips together, and nodded.
“I know. He was really sad. He wanted to be with his family,” said Fiona softly.
“Fiona, he was so happy when I let him go in the yard. He thanked me over and over again. He wished that he had something to give us as a present. I felt like I set his soul free by granting this wish. I wanted you to be there, except I knew you would get mad at me. I’m sorry.” Aerya sat with her hands together in her lap, looking at her knees.
“I know - I know. It’s just that, I don’t know, everything turned into a big mess. Aerya, I feel terrible about lying to my dad.”
“Why don’t you tell him the truth?”
Fiona shrugged.
“I can’t now. I guess I didn’t think he would believe me. Adults are different from kids. They don’t believe the same stuff. You wanted to help Rumpy, and I wanted to help Rumpy too. It seemed like the best way to do that. I just feel bad right now, and want this to end.”
Aerya stood up, her black hair bouncing on her shoulders. She leaned over and gave Fiona a big hug.
“Thank you, Fiona, for all you did for me, and Rumpy. Are you ready to go to the funeral?”
Fiona stood up and held the taped shoe box with both hands.
“Come on, let’s go bury my shoe.”
At that, both girls smiled, then quickly went back to their sad face before leaving the room.
Dad got the spade and asked Fiona where she wanted to bury Rumpy. She chose a place near the back of the yard, under the big snowball bush. Dad nodded without saying a word. He dug a hole about two feet deep, then leaned the shovel against the trunk of the snowball bush.
“Rumpy, you were a fine example of a rat. You kept your whiskers neat, and we will miss you,” said Dad.
“A noble heart,” added Aerya.
Fiona knelt down and set the box in the hole. It seemed small compared to the earth. While she knew that inside was the right, red patent leather shoe, Fiona’s eyes filled with tears.
“Rumpy, I hope that you are happy now. I learned a lot from you, even if I didn’t know you very long. I will never forget you, never forget how you changed things, and I hope that wherever you are, you remember me. Goodbye, Rumple Dumple. Be happy.”
Dad shoveled the dirt back into the hole, then tamped the small mound with the shovel. He took in the little mound, and the two girls who stood side by side, holding hands as they said goodbye to Fiona’s first pet. Fiona’s sad tears were real, and as she cried, she wished the ache in her stomach would go away.
“Fiona,” said Dad softly, stroking her shoulder, “ you can come out and visit with him whenever you like.”
“Thank you, Daddy.” Fiona reached out, and took Dad’s hand in hers. Together, the three of them held hands - Dad, quiet and caring, Fiona sobbing and sniffling, Aerya just standing - beside the grave where they just buried the right, red patent leather shoe.
Eventually, they all went back inside. Fiona and Aerya went up to their room while Dad went off to do Dad stuff. Fiona closed the door, blew her nose on a tissue, and dropped onto the bed.
“Whew! Thank goodness that is finally over!” said Fiona, her voice trembling with emotion.
Aerya dropped onto the bed, too, and let out a big breath.
“I feel tangled up inside,” said Aerya, her voice a little strained.
“I feel exhausted!” Fiona sniffed, and pushed out a big breath of air with a slight ‘whoosh’. “And I can’t believe - it is finally over! Aerya, I feel like sleeping for a hundred years, and shouting, all at the same time!”
“Yes,” Aerya nodded as she spoke, “that’s what I meant by tangled inside. The story has a happy ending. Rumple Dumple is free, and you are free, too Fiona, of having to crawl behind the stove or into the cabinets.”
“That was really awful. I didn’t know there was so much dust and fuzz around the house.” Fiona wiped her nose with the tissue, then let her hand rest on her chest.
“I wondered if Mr. Dad was going to start taking down the walls to find Rumpy!”
“I know! Have you ever seen anyone search so hard for anything?”
“No, I haven’t,” said Aerya, truthfully.
They lay in silence for a while, then Fiona asked,
“What do you want to do now?”
“Nothing. I just want to lay here, and do nothing.”
Fiona nodded.
“Me too.”
When Dad called them for supper, both girls jumped in surprise. Dad served toasted cheese sandwiches with tomato soup that had elbow macaroni, then sat down to eat with them.
“Fiona, I’ve been thinking.”
“Uh huh,” replied Fiona, chewing on the part of her sandwich that was much darker than the rest. Aerya was using her fork to spear the elbow macaroni in her soup, piling them on her opened sandwich.
“After supper, we’ll go to the craft store. There’s something I want to get, and while I’m in there, you and Aerya can wait in the car. I have an idea on how to help you with your sadness about Rumple Dumple.”
Fiona wanted to say that she felt much, much better since the little funeral. She wanted to say that in fact, she felt relieved enough to laugh and run in circles in the back yard. Instead, she said,
“Thank you, Daddy. I’m sure that will be nice.”
Aerya, thankfully, didn’t say anything. She had put the top back on her sandwich, and was trying to take a bite from the pile of macaroni between the bread.
When they finished eating, they drove in the Master Disaster (the off yellow minivan that Aerya said looked like rotten mustard thrown up by a dragon) to the craft store. Dad went in, locking the doors of the minivan. Aerya and Fiona chattered about what Dad was buying. Fiona was glad Dad was at the craft store rather than the pet store. Who knew what Aerya would learn from a new rat. Dad came out a while later with a big bag. He put it on the floor, and drove them home.
Back at the house, Dad called Fiona over to the dining room table.
“Fiona, when someone we love goes away, it can make our heart feel like it will break. This is called grief.”
That’s what the left red patent leather shoe is feeling, thought Fiona.
“Part of the way we handle our grief is letting some time pass. Another way is what we do to remember the one we loved. Do you remember driving by cemeteries?”
Fiona nodded.
“The cemetary has tombstones, or markers. People put those there to remember the people they lost. After we buried Rumpy -”
Those words were like an arrow in Fiona’s heart. She wanted to just forget the whole, long lie she created to free Rumpy. Still, she kept quiet.
“ - I could tell you were very sad because I didn’t hear anything from your room for a long time. I wondered what I could do to help you feel better -”
Another arrow. This was agony!
“ - and I thought, maybe if we had a tombstone for Rumpy, that would help you with your grief.”
Dad took a box from the bag. It was a kit for making a paving stone. Dad explained that they would mix the stuff up, pour it into the sturdy box as a mold, and then use the included materials to write Rumpy’s name, and decorate it a little. Once it was dry, they would set this in the yard as a little tombstone.
In her mind, Fiona thought, oh, snap! When is this ever going to end? Like I want to muck around with this stuff to make a tombstone for a shoe! I am never, ever, ever going to let Aerya get me into a mess like this again! Okay, just keep going. Sooner or later this has to end, and Rumple Dumple will never be mentioned again. Fiona kept her thoughts to herself, and forced a smile.
“Oh, Daddy, that sounds like a nice way to remember Rumpy.”
“I thought so. I’ll get the water, and a plastic bucket. You put on your apron, and get one for Aerya, too, so she can help.”
“I’m alright, Mr. Dad. I should let Fiona have this for herself.”
Fiona gave Aerya a dirty look. Aerya stuck out her tongue.
“Aerya, that is really sweet of you. However, I know that while Rumpy belonged to Fiona, you were really fond of him. It will be good for you to process your grief with this. Then, I think we can all begin to heal.”
Aerya opened her mouth to argue, then closed it, giving Fiona an annoyed expression. Fiona silently laughed, mocking Aerya. They each put on an apron. Dad set down the bucket, then poured the powder and water inside. Aerya and Fiona took turns stirring the thick, white liquid, and then Dad poured it into the mold. It glopped and slapped out of the bucket, and smelled like spoiled muffins.
Next Dad put the collection of shells, beads, and other pieces included to decorate the stone. Aerya thought they should write ‘Rumple Dumple’, and then Fiona pointed out they didn’t have enough of any item for that. Rumpy could be spelled with either the shells, or the plastic gems. Dad brought out a pad of paper for Aerya and Fiona to write their ideas on. At last they decided to use the colored gems to put Rumpy’s initials - RD - and the pretty pink shells to put the year that he passed away. This allowed them to make the letters and numbers really large.
Dad got dental floss, cut notches in the side of the box, and stretched the floss to make guidelines. Fiona carefully pushed the gems in for the R and the D. Aerya arranged her shells for the year, then pushed each one down into the soft material with a pencil. Fiona wished she used a pencil; the white stuff stained her fingers, and as she washed her hands at the sink, she found that it would not wash away with soap and water.
They finished their work on the tombstone, and Dad said it would have to dry overnight. He kissed Fiona, hugged Aeyra, told them they did a good job, and that it was time for bed. With her fingers still stained white, Fiona brushed her teeth, got into her Bratz pajamas, and was asleep almost as soon as she laid her head on the pillow. Beside her, Aerya slept just as soundly, snoring a little bit. Far away from the house, Rumple Dumple, with 7 brothers and 13 sisters, found a case of chocolate covered cupcakes beside a dumpster, and he rejoiced.
“Wake up, sleepy head.”
It was Dad, gently shaking Fiona’s shoulder.
“Good morning, Daddy.”
“Time to get up. The marker is dry, and we can set it out in the yard. Wake sleeping beauty beside you, and come on down for breakfast”
It was Saturday. Saturday was the prize day for a kid. Saturday was soaked in fun. Carnivals always happened on a Saturday. Saturday was a day with long arms, carrying trips to the zoo, to the museum, ice cream, movie theaters, swimming pools, birthday parties, or some other delightful destination. Saturday was the only day out of 7 that was truly friends with a kid, who understood that kids needed time free of restraint. For this reason, Saturday was always Fiona’s favorite day.
Sometimes they had to get groceries with Dad. This wasn’t so bad. Fiona introduced Aerya to grape soccer in the produce department, lobster visits in seafood, and tortilla frisbee (only if Dad was far enough away.) Dad always got them a fun snack as a thank you, and it was nice to have food to eat at home.
In fact, Saturday was the one day when Dad didn’t wake Fiona up. So, what was up with the wake up call?
“Alright, Daddy. We’ll be down in a minute.”
Dad left, and Fiona got out of bed. She put on the puppy slippers, and found her fluffy blue bathrobe. Fiona poked Aerya.
“Aerya, time to get up.”
“It’s Saturday.” said Aerya.
“I know. Something’s up. Come on, we have to go eat breakfast.”
Aerya rolled to the edge of the bed, and let her legs swing over.
“But it’s Saturday.”
“I know. Come on, we have to go.”
Aerya’s feet found the bunny slippers, and put them on. Apparently her feet were sleepy, too, because they put the left slipper on the right foot, and the right on the left. As she shuffled down the hall, the bunny slippers saw the hallway completely differently. Their eyes shone and sparkled at this new view.
Dad had pancakes cooking. The tombstone stood, free of the cardboard mold, and it looked enormous on the table. Fiona’s eyes grew wide when she saw it. R.D. It was a big reminder of her big lie. While she loved pancakes, suddenly, she had no appetite. Dad set down a big stack.
“These are Fiona’s Fabulous Chocolate Chip pancakes. Eat up!”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
Under the white gaze of the tombstone, Fiona chewed the pancakes and swallowed hard to get them down. We’ll get the tombstone set up, and then this will FINALLY be over, thought Fiona to herself. Aerya had a good appetite, and helped Fiona by taking a couple of her pancakes and eating them.
When they were done, Dad sent them back to their room to get dressed.
“When is this ever going to end?” asked Fiona, opening the closet door to get her sneakers.
Hey, everybody, I’m outta here! called the sneakers to the shoes.
Traitor! called the left red, patent leather shoe. How can you go with her? She kidnapped one of us!
Oh, shut up! called the sneakers, sailing through the air as Fiona picked them up.
Yeah, though Fiona to the shoes, shut up.
They all went out to Rumpy’s grave. Dad carried the heavy stone, Fiona had a shovel, and Aerya carried a paint scraper she found in the tool shed. Dad made a shallow hole, and set the tombstone into the trench. Fiona held it while Dad and Aerya put the dirt back. Dad said let go, and the tombstone wobbled, and then fell over.
“Hmmmm, I guess we didn’t set the stone right.” said Dad.
Hmmm, thought Fiona to herself, this is what I get for lying, spending my Saturday messing around with a stupid piece of rock. And why are we doing this? asked Fiona in her sarcastic voice. Because there is a stupid shoe buried here!
It took almost two hours before they finished. The tombstone leaned back a little, resting against a couple of poles that Dad had pounded into the ground. The area around them was littered with tools. It looked like they had taken everything out of the toolshed just to get the stone standing. Now it was upright, and Fiona was really hoping she could have the rest of her Saturday back.
“Fiona, I think that’s a pretty good job. It looks good there.”
“You’re right, Daddy. It does look good.”
“I think it is a little crooked, Mr. Dad.” Fiona could have killed Aerya for saying that. Dad looked, and said that they would probably have to work on it later, after there was some rain. Thank goodness, thought Fiona. hoping that it would be five years before any rain came.
“Daddy, should we start to pick up the tools?” asked Fiona, helpfully.
“Yes, I think we are finished here, for now.”
“Okay, we’ll help.”
Hurrah! Fiona was going to get some Saturday. Fiona needed some time to process everything that had happened, and return to her usual self. She and Aerya made a trip to the toolshed. Aerya stayed in the shed, putting the tools back on their hooks. Fiona went back to where her dad was standing.
“Fiona, next spring, we’ll put up a little fence here.”
Uh oh, thought Fiona, that’s trouble.
“Okay, Daddy,” she said kindly.
“And then I’ll get you some plants you can put into this area. I think it would be nice for you to have some flowers here, to remember how much Rumpy meant to you.”
Ooooh, thought Fiona in her mind, weeding and watering next year. WHEN WILL THIS END? I promise - I make my best promise - that I’ll never lie again! Please please please let this be it!
“That sounds really nice, Daddy. Thank you for thinking so much about this.”
“You’re welcome, honey. I want to do my best to help you with your sadness.”
“I appreciate that a lot.” Fiona paused a moment, then asked, “Should I bring Aerya the rest of the tools?”
“Yes, yes you can. I think we’re done with everything we can do for Rumple Dumple. Now we have to just give it some time.”
THANK YOU! shouted Fiona in her mind. I promise, I promise promise promise, that I will NEVER tell a lie again! Oh thank goodness this is FINALLY over!
“Okay, Daddy.”
Fiona gathered the remaining tools, and took them to the shed. She wanted to run, to shout, to dance, and sing Hallelujah that this was finally over, and somehow, through it all, she made it. Her dad never found the truth - Rumple Dumple was free - Aerya was still her friend - and there was some Saturday left. Nothing could get her down now!
“Fiona?”
Dad stood in the doorway of the tool shed. Aerya took the shovel from Fiona, and stood it in the corner.
“One more thing. I didn’t have a chance to talk to you about this before, however, I’ve given it some thought.”
“What?” Was it going to be a trip somewhere to help Fiona feel better? She hoped that it wasn’t something like that. Dad had already been so nice, Fiona wasn’t sure she could keep this up any longer.
“It was $153 for all of the supplies for Rumpy. I’ve decided that the best way for you to pay that back to me is to deduct it from your allowance. I did the math, and by cutting your allowance in half, you will have it all paid back in just five months. Doesn’t that sound good?”
“Oh, thank you, Daddy,” said Fiona, her heart heavy again.
Inside the house, the shoes in Fiona’s closet let out a long cheer.
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